Get retail right in 2021 - How retail brands and businesses can learn from 2020 and succeed in 2021 and beyond
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Get retail right in 2021
How retail brands and businesses can learn
from 2020 and succeed in 2021 and beyond
Steve Collinge | Alan Thorpe | Natasha Willmott
1
Get retail right in 2021
Contents
Retail’s new priorities
A game of apparent winners and losers 3
Promiscuity and opportunity 4
Which way should you jump? 5
Who should you partner with? 6
Sector success story –DIY
Context: DIY and home improvement 7
Think of the customers 8
The four categories that can save DIY retail 9
What this means for retail more widely 10
What data can do
The problem with channel-centric marketing 11
Enhanced targeting to augment ‘broadcast’ approaches 12
For example… Always-on digital e-commerce approach for Very 13
For example… Nissan – scaling the approach 15
Build your own first-party data
A compliant, future-proof way to collect meaningful customer data 16
The anatomy of quality data capture 17
Drawing conclusions 18
Meet the authors 20
About Indicia Worldwide 21
2
Retail’s new priorities
A game of apparent winners and losers Internet sales as proportion of all retail
11.5%
The term ‘new normal’ has been used to improve their home. Indeed, IKEA saw
so much that it’s starting to lose its fit to announce the opening of 50 new
meaning. The year 2020 will go down in stores globally.
history as the moment where everything On the other hand, sales of fashion
changed. Retail, an industry already in August remained 15.9% lower than
facing disruption and challenge, has pre-pandemic levels amid job security August 2015
borne the brunt of the crisis. fears and fewer opportunities to go out
According to the British Retail wearing new threads.
Consortium (BRC), September saw a One trend that the pandemic has
“fragile recovery” for retail as sales grew certainly served to accelerate is the
26.6%
4.1%. But with further disruption looming shift towards internet sales. According
(and likely continuing well into 2021), that to ONS figures, the past five years have
fragility will be severely tested. seen online’s proportion of all sales more
Success stories appear to be tied directly than double – in August 2020 online
to the effects of the pandemic. DIY and shopping accounted for more than a
homewares have bounced up quickest quarter of all retail sales.
since restrictions lifted, as people work August 2020
3
Retail’s new priorities
Promiscuity and opportunity
32%
of UK consumers have tried new
brands during COVID-19
There are opportunities for
brands seen to respond well
to the crisis
97%
As we look to define strategy for this
uncertain future, there’s more than just sales Winning and delighting new
figures at play. The pandemic has affected customers now represents
brand loyalty, the role of physical stores, opportunity to keep them
intend to purchase from
channel mixes, and more. those new brands
Here’s some telling numbers from a global
63%
consumer attitudes poll by one of our
partners, Braze.
The role of physical stores
has drastically changed
of UK shoppers admit it will be 1-6
months before they feel comfortable
shopping in person
90%
of families and students have made
“Back to School” purchases online
Brands with no digital route to
market are at a disadvantage
4
Retail’s new priorities
Which way should you jump?
Borrow an audience from dominant Commit to physical retail and do
Routes to market and routes to growth
retailers such as Amazon it better
are the key drivers of difficult decisions for
marketers and brands. Regardless of how Pros: Enormous reach Pros: Great if you have an existing footprint
on the high street
sophisticated or otherwise a given brand’s Cons: Pay a fee, and sacrifice brand
experience Cons: Uncertainty – worst case scenario is
sales strategy was at the start of 2020, doors are forced to close again
most are now in a position where they
need to fix up a sustainable, scalable route
to consumers’ spend.
Build direct to consumer access Rely on wholesalers to build
P
ros: You control your brand, prospects
great D2C
are warm and engaged, incremental Pros: Great if you already have scale
over time
Cons: Only great if you already have scale
Cons: Up front investment, depends on
data quality
5
Retail’s new priorities
And who should you partner with?
Another part of the puzzle – there are
options when it comes to partnerships that
help you get to market in this climate.
Outsourced ecommerce is a long-term
undertaking, while gig-economy logistics let
you get started fast but at a cost, and comes
with compromises to your own brand.
The ‘other way’ is to go direct to consumer
and set up the capability in-house. This
approach requires that you build your own
first-party data universe. You’ll own the
brand experience and marketing, and you’ll
set yourself up for sustainable long-term
sales with an engaged audience.
We’ll look at approaches to doing this later
in the paper.
6
Sector success story Steve Collinge, Managing Director, Insight Retail Group
Steve is MD of the Insight Retail Group (IRG) and Executive Editor
at Insight DIY. Currently, he advises brands on their ‘new normal’
transformations. He’s held senior commercial roles with LG Harris,
Spear & Jackson, Cuprinol and Akzo Nobel, and he established IRG
in 2010. In 2011 he launched the Insight DIY website and has since
What wider retail can learn from launched the first independent price comparison websites within the
home improvement sector. He’s an international thought leader and
DIY and home improvement influencer in all things retail. Which is exactly why he’ll be taking us
through this section of the paper.
Let’s look at the retail vertical credited Context: shifts in buying power
Like many sectors, DIY has seen a huge shift in buying power.
with bucking the COVID trends: DIY and From brands, through to retailers, and now – in the age of the
home improvement. What can we learn internet – it’s finally in the hands of the consumers.
from the sector?
1970s Now
The biggest brands were the decision The introduction of ‘big box’ DIY stores (with Consumers hold all the power. By searching
makers when it came to which retailers combined 1,000+ stores in the UK) meant online, they can identify multiple companies
stocked their products. their buyers made the decisions on which who offer products at different specs and
products they stocked. prices. Then they decide where to buy from.
7
Sector success story What wider retail can learn from DIY and home improvement
Steve Collinge, Managing Director, Insight Retail Group
Think of the customers
We’re seeing this accelerated shift towards We know that, actually, consumers shop on a project In short, there’s currently too much friction in the
consumers having the lion’s share of buying power by project basis when it comes to DIY – whether buying experience. It makes sense then, that there’s
across other industries too, but none more marked that’s installing some decking in their garden or an increased pressure for DIY retailers to shift
than DIY. So, ‘big-box’ DIY retailers (like B&Q and totally renovating their kitchen. The current retail towards online – not dissimilar to what we’ve
Homebase) are facing a dilemma, having always model for DIY is at best confusing and at worst already seen with high-street department stores.
operated in a way that’s akin to a bricks and mortar completely off-putting. After all, they’re not usually the cheapest, and now
Amazon store – product after product, absolutely Every single tool consumers require for any given they don’t even have the widest range of products
not designed with consumer experience in mind. project is in a different place in the store, and in either. So why, realistically, would consumers choose
They’re still selling as they were 30 years ago. some cases customers have to visit multiple stores them? It’s time to start designing DIY stores based
You know, back when it was them that had all to get everything they need for a home on projects.
the buying power. improvement project.
What does this mean for retailers overall?
1 2 3
Map the role of digital in Understand shopper journeys Use physical stores to augment
consumers’ buying habits once they’re in store to give them what users are doing online
to win their spend a better experience – this helps future-proof
8
Sector success story What wider retail can learn from DIY and home improvement
Steve Collinge, Managing Director, Insight Retail Group
The four categories that can save DIY retail With these ‘big box’ DIY retailers beginning to close, a sharp focus on
four categories within home improvement could save them. If retailers
devoted space for these into the heart of their physical stores, they
could well be totally future-proofed.
Decorative Live garden Kitchens Smart home
Decorative – which is to say, paint, wallpaper, flooring Shopping for plants is a more emotional purchase An in-store experience is essential to consumers Smart home is a new and growing high-value
and lighting – is the most aspirational DIY purchase journey – people are choosing something living to shopping for a kitchen as they’re difficult to buy online category, so consumers naturally need more support
journey. It’s also generally quite pleasant, and drives take home and nurture. This is where support from (unless you’re a carpenter). Specialist kitchen retailers here. A designated area for smart heating, lighting
more visits to DIY stores than any other product specialists could be particularly valuable. For example, don’t do the whole package – you could buy all your and security is an effective way to drive a younger
category. However, in-store, it generally entails being if a body like the Royal Horticultural Society could lend units from them, but you’d have to go somewhere else generation of customers in-store. And instantly
left to wander up and down multiple aisles with endless its brand to trained staff who would be on-hand during for your floor and lighting, for example. Along with position a retailer as relevant to them, too.
cans of paint on them. A better model would be for the shopping experience to support and advise. the existing consultation service, DIY stores have a
decoration specialists to devote time to work alongside competitive advantage in that they offer everything for
customers on a one-to-one basis, helping them the project under one roof – a compelling proposition
achieve their home aspirations. for consumers on the lookout for a new kitchen.
9
Sector success story What wider retail can learn from DIY and home improvement
Steve Collinge, Managing Director, Insight Retail Group
So what does all this mean for retail?
A strong customer experience in-store is key to the
survival of retail, but how do we get people in-store
in the first place? We know that 80% of customers do
their research online before they make their choice
about where to buy. Brands need to be as prominent as
they can to the right audiences in order to encourage
them to visit stores. And now more than ever, they
themselves need to be aspirational (as opposed to
simply hitting customers with messaging about new
product features and promotions).
Physical retail can complement online, and exist for
specific elements that can’t be replicated there. Such
as when customers need to use more senses to choose Identify the main entry points Be customer centric, not Understand each channel’s role
the products (for example, seeing paint colours in real
life, or touching different textures of tiles or flooring). into your business and work out product centric so that you can in the purchase journey – which
Or friendly, expert staff being on-hand as and when
required. And indeed pleasurable experiences where how to leverage them be there at the right time in means embracing omnichannel
they can explore and interact with products in creative the right channel and leveraging the fact that
and dynamic ways.
search and research often
takes place online
10What data can do
The problem with channel-centric marketing Brands need to move towards carefully orchestrated, multi-channel
campaigns, communicating to an identifiable individual who has
How are brands solving the problem of acquiring consented to receive communication from your brand
and converting new customers online in the age of
GDPR and upcoming ICO guidelines?
The UK population
+ T
raditionally, separate audiences have been
targeted on each channel
+ M
arketing activity is often planned using a ‘channel
first’ approach
+ E
ach channel is planned separately, which means
there’s little consideration of the overall message
and consumer experience
+ T
his can be inefficient, expensive and costs us
the opportunity to amplify the message through
multiple channels
Target audience
• Facebook • Display • CRM • TV
11What data can do
Enhanced targeting to augment Reach
‘broadcast’ approaches
We offer enhanced targeting on top of the Traditional advertising
existing activity that will support cross-channel – maximising reach
lead generation and semi-targeting
+ C
ommunicating with a smaller, tightly
defined audience
+ Align the messaging with other channels
+ Use a small % of the existing targeted pot Indicia Worldwide –
addressable audience
+ G
enerate a specific audience which
is measurable
Precision
12What data can do – for example…
The new always-on digital
e-commerce approach for Very
The collection and activation of first-party
data is central to the success of The Very
Group’s cross-channel marketing
We’ve worked for the Very brand for well over 20
years, and have built up a strong first-party dataset for
them. This means campaigns can be consistent, hyper-
relevant, and accurately targeted across channels.
What’s more, our unique data tech capabilities enable
us to take a traditional data source and append email
and IP data to unlock additional digital channels.
This approach enables Very to be present within day-
to-day browsing and online activity. Known individuals
are targeted across multiple channels to create a
compelling campaign.
Ultimately, it means that rather than just sending
a generic message, which you hope that someone
might happen across using traditional targeting, the
brand can be sure of who is seeing which message,
in a variety of channels.
So the focus can be on building messaging and
building a campaign, ensuring known individuals
experience the messaging and can be nurtured
towards conversion.
Creative consistency is key across all channels and touchpoints
13What data can do – for example…
The new always-on digital
e-commerce approach for Very
It works – recent results:
30% 23yrs 7,000
increase in response of partnership and Over 7,000 incremental
from new channels (VoD) always-on optimisation customers in the first 6 months
Indicia Worldwide’s expertise in customer
analytics lets us understand our prospects just
as well as our customers. Not only this, they
always execute their insight through beautiful,
timely and intuitive communications that
deliver measurable results.”
14What data can do – for example…
How precision is achieved – conquest
Nissan – eDM plus omnichannel retargeting
scaling the approach
Nissan
Nissan 33xxCold
Cold Emails
Emails NissanMotor
Nissan Motor
The ability to build personalised, owners
owners 80k
80kindividuals
individuals
Corporation
Corporation
MCEurope
MC Europe
addressable campaigns has clear profiles
profiles
benefits when taking big ticket Unveil
Unvail Triggered
items to market too, as our work
for Nissan shows... Connectivity
Connectivity Handraisers
Cold
ColdInteract
Interactdata
Data Triggered
2 emails
Our approach works for products that have a longer Owner
Ownerprofiles
profilesused
used
totoselect
selectlook-a-like
look-a-like
Time totest-drive
Time to test-drive + offer
+ offer per week
consideration phase, such as in automotive. We applied
the methodology to the Nissan Juke launch in 2019.
audiences
audienceswithin
within Handraisers
NAE asset
cold
colddata
data + 2 emails per week
We hold Nissan owner profiles thanks to our Test-drive
Test-drive + NAE asset
enrichment of their customer data using our own
proprietary sources. In this instance we used this data Retargeting
request or
request or Design
to unlock look-a-like prospects based on our detailed withTVC
with TVC website
website + accessories
Design
buyer profiles.
+ accessories
Connectivity
Our approach gives us accuracy at scale. We start with Email
Emailaddress
addressisis VOD + accessories
identifying the individual and then, using the email as a used asas
a key toto
key, we unlock additional channels to create a layered
used
unlock
a key
channels at
unlock channels at
VOD 40k of those individuals
Connectivity
+ accessories
an individual basis (cap Agility
omnichannel campaign. an individual basis 40k3oftimes)
those individuals
(cap 3 times) + accessories
Whereas a traditional media agency would use Agility
+Safety
accessories
audience profiles to buy media in each channel, and
‘hit and hope’ that individuals see the message across Retargeting + accessories
withTVC
with TVC
a multitude of channels, we’re able to be sure that Safetey
our target audience is reached on an individual basis. + accessories
Social
Enabling us to layer and amplify messaging across Facebook and ITV to be Social 1st CTA – PES page
each channel in turn as we drive towards conversion. added to NU plan 1stndCTA – PES page
2 CTA – Accessories
Funded from Indicia 2nd CTA – Accessories
The result? Precision in terms of targeting won Nissan booked budget
Facebook and ITV to be added to NU 40k
40kof
ofthose
thoseindividuals
individuals
a huge uplift in Juke test drive requests. planFunded from Indicia booked budget (cap
(cap33times)
times)
15Build your own first-party data
A compliant, future-proof
way to collect meaningful Relevance and value exchange Opted-in email addresses stitched to
customer data drive warm sign-ups anonymous historical browsing data to
inform always-on activity
So, how can you rapidly build first-party
data and an addressable audience?
This method relies on relevance in the first instance
– ensuring that your advertising appears on relevant Display ads
media so that the message is part of the consumer’s
journey rather than interruptive of their journey.
And then, at the point of sign-up, brand plays a vital
part in ensuring your captured data is valuable.
It’s easy to be tempted to input your email address Push
Data Data
if a big-ticket prize is on offer. But is that consumer through to Campaigning
engaged with your brand or just chancing their arm to capture stitching
win the prize?
sign-up
If a consumer inputs their email address in exchange
for an offer that’s relevant to their online activity, they
are much more likely to be valuable to your brand, and Customer centric Immediate email Nurture activity
much more likely to go on to buy from you.
Targeted value exchange response drives conversion
The power of stitching social ads
We also use a technique called ‘stitching’. That is,
setting up your website so that historical anonymised
browsing data can be ‘stitched’ to an email address
once that email address has been freely given by
the user.
This gives you a head start in your relationship with
that consumer, and informs your campaigning activity
once the user is known to you.
16Build your own first-party data
The anatomy of quality
data capture
While your brand can look for
broad reach by advertising on TV
or on general interest high-traffic
websites, this data acquisition
activity is designed to precisely
target those most likely to
eventually convert.
To deliver precision, you need to grab attention when
users are already thinking about your market.
We work with a wide variety of lead-generation
partners depending on the campaign. These are
high-traffic but niche publishers that let you speak
to high-value prospects when your brand’s vertical
is already front of mind. In this example, we’re looking
to drive leads for a health and fitness brand.
All landing pages are not created equal
With precise targeting made possible by niche
publishers, attention must turn to what happens after
your prospect clicks. Both the design of the offer
and the UX design plays a huge part in how a page Brand is front and centre – the user can be in no The offer is tempting but not so much that it The data capture is meaningful to the user AND
performs. In this example, a tempting offer is combined doubt that they’re signing up to a relationship devalues the product. And it’s only tempting to the brand. Asking about a user’s training goals
with a question that’s relevant to both the brand and with a brand, but the context means that this the brand’s target customer. in this context makes sense – the user would
the target customer. feels natural and not an interruption. expect the brand to help them meet those goals
(seeding a reason to believe in the brand), while
the brand gathers valuable insight into their
leads and what their motivations are.
17Drawing conclusions This wide-ranging paper is built around a core truth: placing customers at the centre of your strategy (ahead of product and channels) is essential to be relevant in a radically changed retail environment The pandemic has accelerated Consumers have been Search and research usually First-party data is a powerful Precise targeting of high-value trends towards digital shopping promiscuous with their spend takes place online – radically tool when it comes to putting leads online will augment your ATL that were taking hold of the amid the pandemic – and are likely changing the role of physical customers at the centre of your activity, and it’s possible to rapidly retail industry even before 2020. to stick with brands they have tried stores. Adopting a customer- strategy – enabling consumer- ramp up your pot of first-party Retailers without a digital route out. Winning new customers now centric omnichannel approach centric campaigns rather than customer data through relevance to market are at a disadvantage represents a huge opportunity to to marketing means your brand channel-centric campaigns. and messaging that works for both and building direct-to-consumer keep them. fits with the consumer’s natural the user and the brand. relationships must be a priority. journey to purchase. 18
Explore how we can enable D2C relationships for Alan Thorpe
alan.thorpe@indicia.konicaminolta.com
your brand and build successful omnichannel retail +44 (0) 7710 404 382
Talk to Indicia Worldwide today Let’s talk →
19Meet the authors
Steve Collinge Alan Thorpe Tash Willmott
Managing Director, Insight Sales and Marketing Client Partner
Retail Group (IRG) Director EMEA Tash is central to our work to win
MD of the Insight Retail Group (IRG) Strategy, brand, data science, direct-to-consumer engagement
and Executive Editor at Insight DIY, technology, digital, aligning for brands including The Very
Steve currently advises brands on their brand experience with customer Group and ITV. She’s learned
new normal transformations. He’s held needs… you name it, Alan knows just what it takes to build opted-
senior commercial roles with LG Harris, how to do it. He’s also a strategic in access to consumers, and
Spear & Jackson, Cuprinol and Akzo thinker: focused upon leading how to build communications
Nobel, and he established IRG in 2010. innovation and change. that engage, delight and,
In 2011, he launched the Insight DIY ultimately, generate ROI.
website and has since launched the
first independent price comparison
websites within the home improvement
sector. He’s an international thought
leader and influencer in all things retail.
20About Indicia Worldwide
The intelligence-led communications
agency with global production reach
We create new value across the full remit Some of our clients
of marketing. We’ve built this business to
support our clients in a unique end-to-end
way – finding operational efficiencies and
delivering marketing that performs.
Present in 37 countries, and working with
more than 500 brands around the world
(including some of biggest brands on the
planet), we present a new way of delivering
marketing – helping clients to spend less,
but achieve more.
Alan Thorpe
Talk to Indicia Worldwide today alan.thorpe@indicia.konicaminolta.com Let’s talk →
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